2005 Features
Listed below is an archive of featured stories spotlighted
on the Park Board's home page in the
'feature boxes' section. These four boxes accentuate timely activities,
events and other information of interest to the public.
The Park Board web site maintains its "freshness" by changing
the home page feature boxes on a weekly basis to reflect the events
and highlights of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.
November 28, 2005 - If you're a visitor or an uninitiated
resident, you will want to make a list of the best holiday lights to
drive-by or walk-through. Here's a starter course...
November 28, 2005 - Most of Vancouver's busy community
centres have just published their Winter Recreation Brochures and will
soon be accepting registrations for their popular programs. Though registration
days vary from centre to centre, generally the first two weeks in December
are set aside for winter program sign-ups...
November 25, 2005 - The new Killarney Swimming Pool,
an $11 million destination leisure aquatic facility serving all Vancouver
residents, is poised for a January 2006 opening. By late November the
pool will start to be filled with thousands of gallons of water leading
the way for Vancouver's first natatorium to be opened in over 25 years...
October 31, 2005 - There are basic skills that can
save you from unexpected life-threatening situations and swimming is
one of them. Not only is swimming a wonderful life-long exercise that
maintains body strength and promotes cardiovascular health, just knowing
the basics can save a life. Drowning is one of the leading causes of
unintentional deaths for youths and adults. Swimming lessons teach safety
awareness, which may prevent the loss of life and being proficient in
the water through learning skills and safety is a primary benefit of
quality swim lessons...
September 26, 2005 - As the winds of autumn make their
inevitable presence known more and more each day, the beautifully maintained
flower beds in one of Vancouver's busiest beachfront areas never looked
better. The islands of flowers that comprise the diminutive Morton Triangle
Parks, where Beach Avenue meets Denman Street, have received kudos aplenty
over the past three years with their bold plantings and compositions
tiered-up to give an impression of great depth where actual area is
limited...
September 22, 2005 - During late September and through
October, 30 sculptures will be placed in Vancouver parks including Devonian
Harbour, Coal Harbour, Thornton, English Bay and Vanier Parks. These
latest sculptures to appear at a variety of greenswards is part of the
Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale. The Park Board emphasizes
that the organizers of the display will undertaken all costs related
to it and that it is temporary in nature with plans for coming down
18 months from now...
September 19, 2005- On Thursday, September 22, 2005,
Vancouver will join 1,500 other cities and 100 million people worldwide
in celebration of Car Free Day. Look for the Park Board's Street Tree
exhibit at the City's very first "Car Free Day" festival.
Carrall and Water Streets in Gastown will be closed for this one day
event, which will be held between noon and 8 pm...
September 19, 2005 - This month marks the 10th Anniversary
of the Lost Lagoon Nature House, Vancouver's only ecology centre. It
also marks the decade evolution of what started as the Stanley Park
Zoological Society, founded in 1988, and evolved into becoming what
it is today - the Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES)...
August 26, 2005 - The Vancouver Park Board's popular
web site broke a new barrier this week when it passed the one million
visits a year mark - the first time the site has achieved this
benchmark! This is a testament to all those working on the web site
and the residents who have used this amazing tool to shape healthier
and more informed lives...
August 26, 2005 - The last week of summer can be an
in-between time for children who are looking forward to seeing old friends
when school starts but still holding on to what remains of their summer
freedom. Summer vacations and kids are perfectly paired and one or the
other usually leads the way to new adventure. But with only about ten
days to go, with the clock ticking away, children need a little help
to keep their schedules filled with the last sweet sips of summer bounty...
August 26, 2005 - Of all the shrubs one could plant,
the glorious and many coloured hydrangea is one of the most popular
and best choices. Extremely forgiving in both dry and wet climates,
this stalwart species can even survive on a windy shoreline or beachfront
when all other best bets have turned up their toes in the face of unrelenting
salt-filled breezes...
August 22, 2005 - Known as the Silk Tree,
Albizia is better known in the sheltered and milder climates of the
southern United States though some varieties are hardy enough to survive
a New Jersey winter...
August 22, 2005 - Childhood summers seemed endless,
it's true, but as the adult in us emerges we quickly learn that the
"endless days" fly by with ever-increasing swiftness. That
gives us all the more reason to take advantage of Vancouver's superb
and heated outdoor pools up until the Labour Day weekend...
August 22, 2005 - Mayor Larry Campbell has proclaimed
August 22nd-28th, 2005 as Skateboarding Week in Vancouver. Citing the
rise in popular interest for skateboarding, the Mayor went on to praise
British Columbia's skateboarders for bringing international distinction
to Vancouver with their achievements. "Vancouver has developed
a significant skateboard industry including the largest and oldest professional
contest in North America, Slam City Jam", scheduled this year at
BC Place Stadium from August 26th-28th...
August 2, 2005 - The VSO will stage a free concert
in the natural amphitheatre of Stanley Park's Lumbermen's Arch on Sunday,
August 7th with a rehearsal starting at 2 pm and the main event at 7
pm. Grab a blanket, bring a picnic and let the dulcet tones of Vancouver's
premier orchestra, under the direction of maestro Bramwell Tovey, combine
with the magic of a summer evening. The VSO will perform light classics
and popular favourites with something for everyone's taste...
July 18, 2005 - The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
won the National Award of Merit from the Canadian Public Relations Society
(CPRS) at its annual conference in late June...
July 11, 2005 - Vancouver's diverse and world-respected
parks and recreation system gives rise to numerous daily inquiries at
the 2099 Beach Avenue hub of central operations. Stanley Park history
ranks high on the list of most frequently asked questions followed by
the widest variety of "asks" you could possibly imagine, from
recreation programs to horticultural requests to architectural details,
combining recent events with, what seems at times, ancient history...
July 4, 2005 - As the temperatures rise and the lazy,
hazy days of summer set in, it can be easy to abandon the winter regimen
of the gym for outdoor settings. Winter fitness ideals are often adhered
to by the strong of will. But for those among us who take long anticipated
holidays during July and August, accompanied by the inevitable higher
than usual ingestion of summer's bountiful harvest, a weekly trip or
two to the fitness centre keeps the muscles toned and the scale in balance...
June 27, 2005 - The majority of people look forward
to the early spring flush of the pinks, whites and mauves that comprise
the multitudes of shades in the city's over 36,000 flowering cherry
and plum trees. The sight of a china blue May sky with cloud like cherry
(Prunus) blossoms, shifting in the breeze, can make you stop in your
tracks and ponder the beauty of this place we call home. By end of spring
the Cherry tree act is over but there are others waiting in the wings
and though their glamorous skirts are held a bit higher up into their
canopy, they are no less worth the waiting for...
May 30, 2005 - A Flexipass is a non-transferable pass
that allows you unlimited admission to Park Board operated fitness centres,
indoor pools and outdoor pools and is available for adults, youth, children
and seniors. A Flexipass also gives you flexibility by allowing you
to purchase a pass for a specific time period--1 month, 3 months, 6
months or 1 year...
May 16, 2005 - We're all gearing up for those long,
luxurious days of summer and where else to make the most of all the
season has to offer than on our beaches and parks? And when we think
of a summer outing, whether it's a leisurely cycle around the Stanley
Park Seawall, an intense game of volleyball at Kits Beach, or a quick
dip with the kids at New Brighton Pool, more often than not we also
think about the pleasures of summer eating. What better way to top off
a day at the beach or at the pool than a visit to one of our parks'
food concessions?...
May 2, 2005 - Of course you love your mother and have
been thinking about getting just the right gift and card to mark her
special day this Sunday but somehow time has slipped away and the date
is fast approaching!...
May 12, 2005 - The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science
Centre will be holding its third annual Goodbye Salmon Fry event
this weekend and next, allowing visitors to release a baby salmon fry
into the BC Hydro Salmon Stream Project in Stanley Park...
May 2, 2005 - Stanley Park's seasonal winged residents
have flown back to their highrise nests to set up housekeeping for another
spring and summer. Returning for the fourth year in a row on February
1st, the herons now occupy over 157 commodious nests in 24 trees. Now
is an excellent time to observe the parenting skills of the heron mates
as they continually fine tune their nesting structures and forage for
"baby food" along the shores of English Bay...
May 2, 2005 - In a city the size of Vancouver it may
seem at times that there are no hidden horticultural treasures waiting
to take us by surprise, but you would be wrong. Now, and for the next
several weeks, the wood-chipped lined pathway that encircles the Stanley
Park Pitch & Putt Golf Course is blooming in a confetti of pastel
colours with rhododendrons and azaleas taking centre stage...
April 14, 2005 - The seasons at the Vancouver Park
Board are experienced in a variety of ways. Key among the triggers that
suggest a moving on in time are our innate senses. Overlooking a greensward
in Stanley Park is a daily pleasure for many at the Park Board Administration
Office with the seasons unfolding in autumn leaves, blankets of snow,
sweltering sunshine, or the best of all, the first cut of spring's "leaves
of grass"...
April 14, 2005 - Too often the zeal to get a tee time
on one of the Park Board's magnificent full length golf courses makes
one forget the easier and slower passed alternatives where swings can
be analyzed or new players introduced to the gentler, kinder art of
golf...
April 14, 2005 - The Heron Cam was unobtrusively
installed atop a West End highrise adjacent to the Stanley Park heronry
in late March and is a cooperative project between the Vancouver Park
Board and the Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES)...
March 3, 2005 - Since its inception in 1888, the Vancouver
Park Board has had waterfront on its collective mind. After settling
in to manage its first park (Stanley) the elected Commissioners set
their sights on the English Bay waterfront which circa 1900 was home
to rooming houses, hotels and private residences. The waterfront was
virtually inaccessible to the public so the Board made it a long term
goal to gradually buy up the private properties, tear down the buildings
and create sandy beaches for the benefit of all...
February 28, 2005 - Stanley Park's seasonal winged
residents have flown back to their highrise nests to set up housekeeping
for another spring and summer. Returning for the fourth year in a row
on February 1st, the herons now occupy over 40 commodious nests comprised
of about 80 birds. Now is an excellent time to view the mating and nest
repairing rituals of these majestic creatures before the leafing out
of tall trees obscures bird watching...
February 7, 2005 - What better way to celebrate heart
day than in one of the Vancouver Park Board's perfectly located establishments
operated by some of the city's finest restaurateurs? If you have been
waiting for out of town visitors to smell the roses, scan the city skyline
or overlook one of English Bay 's best sunsets - wait no more!...
February 7, 2005 - What better time of year to take
a walk along the Stanley Park Seawall? Fair weather visitors and tourists
are at a minimum and some days you can pretend that this magnificent
creation of nature and man, belongs to you alone...
January 17, 2005 - When you work at the Park Board
Office in Vancouver, regardless of your natural proclivities for garden
appreciation or not, you are soon brought over to the "green side"
after a season or two. With Stanley Park as a backdrop there is almost
always something in bloom, either quietly so under an upper protruding
leaf or brashly unadorned along a bare stem...
January 10, 2005 - A few years back when Park Board
Planner Mark Vulliamy was doing research, delving into Park Board archives,
he kept coming across the name of one Jan Eisenhardt. It seemed that
this native of Denmark, born in 1906 and transplanted to Vancouver in
the early 1930s, was at the heart of a wide variety of recreation and
fitness programs and activities...
January 6, 2005 - We have been touched and saddened,
as a community and on a personal level, by the Boxing Day earth quake
and tsunamis in Southeast Asia. For most of us, a tragedy on this scale
is unimaginable...
Park Board Holiday Lights!
Online Recreation Program Registration
Get Wet at the new Killarney Pool – Opening January 2006!
Adults Get in the Swim!
The Floral Tapestry at Morton Park
Temporary Sculpture Exhibit at Several Vancouver Parks
Park Board Participates in Car Free Day Festival
Stanley Park Nature House Marks 10th Anniversary
Park Board Web Site - One Million Visits!
Hot Spots for Kids in Stanley Park
Hydrangea Heaven
Albizia in Bloom - Tropical Fever in Stanley Park
The Last Strokes of Summer
Skateboarding Week
Sunday in the Park with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Park Board Wins Award for Web Site
Park Board Heritage "A" at 2099 Beach Avenue
Shape Up - Summer Fitness Made Easy
Street Trees in Bloom Catalpa Flowers "Heaven Scent"
Flexipasses and Strip Tickets
Fish and Chips at the Beach - a Vancouver Tradition
Park Menus Just For Mom
Goodbye Salmon Fry - Aquarium Invites Public to Release Hundreds of
Baby Salmon
Stanley Park Heronry Doubles In Size
Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron GardenIn Flower Now Through Middle May
Grass Cutting Season Starts
Pitch & Putt - Picture Perfect
Chick Flick - Heron Cam Captures - Live Tree Top Action
Think Waterfront - Think Parks
Parks & Hearts: Great Locations for Valentine's Day Dinners
Along the Shores of Stanley Park
The Sweet Scent of Early Winter
Jan Eisenhardt, Recreation Pioneer, Gone But Not Forgotten
Helping Tsunami Victims
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